brr-rr......! The wind is howling out there. It doesn't make me want to do outdoor things, that's for sure. What a miserable day to try to move tropical plants. It's the kind of day when we ask ourselves why this business? I tried to set us up for the day with a hot breakfast of mixed grains, oatmeal and chopped apples cooked with cinnamon, topped with last night's fresh yogurt.

Every time I make yogurt I remind myself that there is onemore thing I want to tell you about making yogurt. Here goes. Your starter is paramount. Protect it. Without some good yogurt put away, it is difficult to make a good next batch. There's nothing magic about it. Before I start eating a new batch, I fill a small glass jar with my fresh yogurt. It gets stored away in the refrigerator. The second thing I need to say about this is that I actually have two little jars stored. One from each of the last two batches of yogurt I've made. Call it insurance. (This means that the first time, you will have to put away two little jars.) When I get ready to make a batch of yogurt, I take the oldest jar out for my starter. For me, this means that it is probably about 1 1/2 weeks old. However, There have been times when I've been away and my starter has waited for up to three months. If the glass jars are full and capped, it probably will still work. So, that's it. Easy!

The other thing I've been thinking about is a Friday posting regimen. I want to make it easier for me to figure out what to post. I'm thinking that Friday is a perfect day for the week's project round-up, a show of what I've been working on.

Spindling: The cops I showed you earlier in the week turned into 200 yd. of a two ply lace wt. It is soaking now.

Knitting: I've wanted to knit Anne Hanson's Rivolo scarf. It looked like perfect TV knitting, with only a small repeat of 9 sts. and 8 rows. This is a project I can carry to meetings and enjoy while my aattention is divided. I'd also recommend it to anyone thinking that lace is difficult. Sweet and easy. I'm knitting it in Ball and Skein's Elise, the Mist color-way. Thanks, Anne for another enjoyable knit.

Spinning: I've got a lot of that lovely carded merino done, but nothing since last Sunday. Tomorrow.

First, thank you for all your well wishes for my Mom's recovery. She's doing well. Better than she thinks she is, or at least I hope so.

Lisa wrote me:

I have toyed with the idea of making my own yogurt for awhile now and thought that you had to have a machine. Seeing you just cooked it on the stove intrigues me. Do you have a recipe? Would you mind passing it along?

A few people have written to ask how I make my yogurt. Rather thananswer everyone individually, I thought I'd post it.About yogurt..

I've made my own yogurt for as long as I can remember. Back when I was in college, I had one of those little yogurt makers, the kind with 5 or 6 little jars that sat in a heated base. It was good for low consumption. But, that's not me. I eat a lot of yogurt so I quickly moved on to bigger and better things. If you have a stove, or a hot plate and a pan with a lid, you have all the equipment you need. Don't buy anything.

This recipe is for 1/2 gallon.

Pour 1/2 gallon of milk ( I prefer whole milk but any will do) into saucepan. Add 1/2 cup powdered milk, stirring to dissolve it. The powdered milk isn't absolutely necessary but I find that the yogurt is creamier if I add it. Heat until milk begins to froth. Make sure that you stir your milk to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. I use a wire whisk and a great little heavy bottomed stainless steel pan. When the milk is hot remove from heat.

Now to cool down the milk. The fastest way I've found is to use a water bath. Place the pan of hot milk into a silk filled with about 4" of cold water. Stir it or not.

You don't need a thermometer to tell you when it is the right temperature. Here's the trick. The milk will be the right temperature when you can submerge your finger all the way down to the bottom and hold it there for 20 seconds.. a thousand one, a thousand two... If it is too hot for your finger, it is too hot to make yogurt. Don't let it get too cool. Just to the point where you can hold your finger for the count of 20.

The starter is yogurt from the last batch. If you are just beginning, I'd suggest you buy a container of a good, preferrably organic whole milk yogurt. I like Stonyfield. Their yogurt has a good combination of yogurt bacteria. Whisk about 1/2 cup (not more) into the warm milk.

Put the lid onto the pan and wrap it in a blanket. I use a bath towel. Place it in a warm spot if you have one. Just keep it wrapped up and don't slosh it about too much. Give it 3-4 hours. Less time gives a sweeter, thinner yogurt, more time a stronger, thicker one.